Roller furling

[Buoysmom]

We have a 1984 34.5 Hunter, we are wanting to replace the original roller furling. Can it be removed and still re-use the forestay? Will the sails we have for the old roller furling work on the new one we want to replace it with, a CDI roller furling? Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[bkekst]

Hello Bouysmom,

I replaced the hank-on staysail with a furling staysail on my Hunter 45. There is another post I commented on and I posted pictures of the project on my personal site (links below).

Often you can have the hank-on sail recut to work as a furler. It is worth doing some research to make sure you find a good sailmaker.

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=155589&referrerid=121579
https://abouttime.shutterfly.com/thedifficultstufff/146

Brad

 

[Sailgunner]

Don't know for sure but probably yes, you should be able to use the forestay. Best bet is to check with CDI. As for sail use it depends on the track and luff of the sail. Will the old sail fit in the CDI track? Again check with CDI. The length of the luff will determine if it can be reused without adjustment. Too short ok. Too long and it will have to be cut down by a sailmaker. Worse case a sailmaker can modify the luff to work.

 

[Bob 04 H260]

The forestay can probably be removed from the CDI, any CDI I have worked on it could be removed. If the foil on the new furler will allow the fitting on the end of the forestay to pass through it may be possible to reuse it.

Probably only a good idea if it fairly new, it is a critical part of your rigging with no backup if it fails so might want to replace that part anyways.

The new furler will specify a "tape size" in the manual, like #5 or #6 or #7 luff tape. This is the round piece sew on the luff of the sail that slides up inside the groove in the furler foil.

In my experience the CDI furlers have very generous grooves for the luff tapes and I have never had a problem with them. Some other manufactures have very tight tolerances on the luff tape size and it may need to be changed on your sail. Sometimes it even needs to be changed on a new sail that was made to fit that furler, been there done that.

Often the sail loft can release the line inside the luff tape and pull a smaller line up inside the tape to match what your your foil needs. A very inexpensive fix.

If I recall correctly the tape number is supposed to be the diameter of the line in 32nds of an inch used to make the tape. A #6 tape is made with a 6/32" line.

So you should be able to measure the diameter of the luff tape on your sail, look up size required in the new the furler manual and know if it will fit. I did all that and it still did not fit ! so no guarantees, just saying that is how it is supposed to work.........

good luck, Bob

 

[Steve Dion]

A new forestay is just not that expensive. Check with Seco South in Fl. The boat is coming up on 30 yrs so it is worth changing it out.

I don't know if the newer CDI units are much better quality, but the one on our lightly used HV'36 was not the best quality. I think they are okay units on smaller boats.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Bouysmom...some thoughts...

No offense, but an '84 Hunter of 34 feet is an H34. There wasn't a 34.5 model that year.

You didn't state what roller furler you have. If it is a Hyde Stream-Stay, which was originally installed on many H34's, you face an interesting problem. The foil on the Hyde unit IS THE FORESTAY. It is a solid extrusion with no standed cable inside. Replacing this furler will require a forestay to be made up by a rigger. Taking a Hyde furler off the boat maybe should be left to the professionals as the mast needs to be supported forward with the shrouds and backstay slackened to keep the stick upright.

Also don't know if a CDI unit would be up to the loads placed on the tall rigging of headsails carried by the H34 rig. Furlex and others are more expensive but up to the loading.

 

[Sparman USA]

Hi, You MUST replace your headstay unless its only a couple of years old, and even then its best to replace it when fitting a new furler. I tend to use Profurl or Harken for a boat of this size. Remember all you rigging needs to be replaced about every 10 years... Good luck.

 

[Mark48]

In all likelyhood, you have a Hood 810 continuous line furler. The company that now owns Hood, did make a single line replacement unit. The 810 is a real pita as it slips when you try run on reduced sail in higher winds. Do google search and you can find the Hood info. Also many posts on many sites about the 810.

 

[heart of gold]

I'd go with the Harken single slot curler. I've seen them very competitively priced and judging from mine, its so old that the label has faded away, you could not go wrong. I had a CDI on my last boat and I wasn't that impressed. They sell the Harken in this site store.
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?14022/Cruising Unit 1 Furler

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

When I bought my 34 it had a CDI. I kept it for one season and got to dislike it so much I sold it and installed a Profurl. Been happy with this choice for the last 13 years. Boats I've sailed on that had Harken made me think that Harken could probably have made me just as happy and trouble-free as my Profurl. A new headstay is definitely a must if yours is more than 10 years old. Good luck